Chapter Four

By the end of the week, Munzi and Adrian had become good friends of some sort. He would stay in the house while she was at school and in the afternoon,they would take a stroll around town or just spend time at the park. He was funny and she was a lover of stories. He was a good narrator who had lived in another continent and that, she found intriguing. She would hang on to his everyday word and he would commit the musical sound of her laughter to memory. She became much happier than she had ever been her whole life. He on the other hand started to forget. All the pain of losing his wife both to another man and then to death started to fade away. He thanked God everyday for this new chance he had gotten at life. On this particular Wednesday afternoon, they had decided to spend time at the park. It had become their spot. A place where they could connect. They were walking side by side when he took put his hand around her shoulders. She pulled away and then pulled back in just as fast.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her wondering what it was that he had done wrong.

"No. It's just that I don't like people touching me." She explained. She had noticed it for a while now. After Kabila, every time someone touched her, she would feel dirty and immediately feel the urge to wipe herself. But with Adrian, she would ease into him and feel safe. Before him she had always been jumpy. Feeling like someone was watching her and would come and hurt her. Sure, she had not cared much for life but now, she felt like she could live a somewhat better life and she wanted to take the chance.

"You are haphephophobic?" He asked.

"Yes. I don't know. When you use a fancy term it feels like it's a real thing and I'm not just being a bitch. Maybe it's me. I'll work on it." She said throwing her hands around to get some of the frustration out. How much weirder could one get, right?

"It's not your fault. We don't choose how to feel about certain things. Sometimes it's actually not your fault. When did it start?" He asked.

"When I was seven but it just got more real after Kabila." She explained going back to a time when she was in class three. A time where her mind had closed off for twelve years.

     ***Flashback***

Little Munzi was sitting in class listening to the teacher. They were learning her favorite lesson, English. They were covering the topic of the plural and singularity of nouns. It was a beautiful lesson. As the pupils chanted what the teacher had written on the blackboard, Munzi felt her neighbor touch her. She stopped at the words: boy- boys, to look at him.

"What are you doing Jori?" She whispered at him not wanting to disrupt the class.

"Keep quiet or else I'll tell everyone that I saw you behind the door with my big brother." The boy said. It was a lie because Munzi didn't even know that he had a brother but she was much too scared. Her parents always talked about reputation and having a boy rumour on her head would taint their name. And she knew that no one would believe her over the school's blue eyes boy.

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked.

"Nothing, I'm just going to make you feel good." He said and slid his hand up her thigh under her tunic. She kept quiet as he molested her. She couldn't even cry and tell him to stop. She was scared and she felt dirty. That was what she felt for many years after, tainted and scarred. Something no one should have to touch. And every time someone did touch her, she would pull away subconsciously and wipe herself. That's why she was considered a weirdo and had no friends for the rest of her school life.

  ***End of flashback***

"You are crying. What's wrong?" Adrian asked after she had come back from her zoning out.

"What?" She asked and then noticed her tears. She wiped them with her thumbs.

"You mentioned something about seven and then went into another world and started crying." He explained turning her to look at him.

"It's nothing. I just remembered a boy who would touch me when I was seven." She said and looked down in shame.

"Hey, look at me." He said tilting her head by her chin using his index finger. "There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are not to blame for the wrong doings of other people."

"But I didn't stop him. I just sat there and let him do that to me. He was also a child like me." She said looking at him with those big brown eyes.

"That isn't a child sweetness, it's a flawed man. No child would know how to get pleasure from touching another's private parts." He said and pulled her into his embrace. She sunk into him and cried releasing all the pain she had been holding in for twelve years.

"I didn't tell anyone about it. I was so scared. He stopped when school closed and his parents moved. I was so relieved but I never fully recovered. It was so painful." She said crying into the new shirt they had bought over the week.

"It's okay. You were only a child. And you were scared and justifiably so." He whispered sweetly into her ear and then tensed his whole body becoming taut. She noticed and pulled away from his body to look at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked with her tears blurring her vision. He visibly swallowed.

"Did he rape you?" He asked.

"Not really only touch me. In fact I had forgotten about it until just a few minutes ago. I wonder why." She said.

"Come here. You are fine now and safe." He said pulling her into his embrace once again.

Several minutes later, they got to the park and sat at their spot. They sat there in comfortable silence just looking at the birds. They were so small and flew so high. A thought occurred to Munzi.

"You know, you never really told me much about you. We always talk about me and I'm the future therapist here." She said looking at him.

"I'm not as interesting or funny as you are but ask away." He said.

"Why did you become a minister?" She asked turning her body to face him.

"My father was one and when he got sick, he wanted me to take over so I did." He said.

"I'm sorry about him getting sick. Is he okay?" She asked feeling bad for bringing him back to that part of his life.

"He's still sick but alive. My mother takes care of him." He said thinking of both of them.

"Do they know that you are here?" She asked.

"No. I found out about my wife's adulterous ways and that very same day, I followed her. It was an impromptu decision so I didn't have the time to say goodbye." He said and began thinking about how they must be feeling. He was sure that they were worried. He needed to find a way to contact them and tell them that he was okay. His church also needed their leader back. But he wasn't sure that he would be able to leave. He had a found a girl and he was falling for her. He had tried not to get attached but it was becoming harder every day.

"Do you miss your wife?" She asked fearing for the answer since she had also started to fall for him.

"Sometimes I wonder if I did something wrong. If I was the reason why she strayed." He said and rubbed his forehead. This was clearly taking it's toll on him but he needed to let it out.

"You said it. A rapist doesn't become a rapist because there are victims just waiting to be found. And yours might not have been a causal relationship. That it's possible you weren't the best husband doesn't mean it's why she strayed. Trust me, you can be an angel and still get hurt. I mean Jesus did." She said rubbing his shoulders. He smiled.

"You are right. Why don't we go back home. It's getting cold and you still don't have a coat." He said still smiling. His smile was infectious so she mirrored it.

"Okay. I need to teach you how to cook native African food anyway." She said getting up and offering him her hand. He took it and got up.

"What are we making tonight?" He asked.

"Biriyani which means we have to go shopping. I don't have all the ingredients." She said thinking of how she was spending her savings on him.

"You are spoiling me you know." He said walking with slowly to match her short strides.

"I have my reasons. Besides you are my guest and we Zenj's believe in hospitality. I mean my dead ancestors would probably roll in their graves if I didn't treat you like a king." He laughed and shook his head. It was impossible not to love her.